The primary mission of GPO is to make government publications
widely available, by gathering, cataloging, providing, and
preserving published information in all forms. GPO provides
information to the public through GPO Access, which contains
searchable databases of government information, and through the Federal
Depository Library Program, which is a partnership with
hundreds of libraries throughout the country.

Superintendent of
Documents

U.S. Government Printing Office

The Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) is in charge of the
dissemination of information at the U.S. Government
Printing Office (GPO). The Superintendent is appointed by the
Public Printer, who serves as the head of
GPO. It is the Superintendent's responsibility to provide public
access to Government information published by the United States Congress, Federal
agencies and the United States federal
courts. This is accomplished through the Federal Depository
Library Program (FDLP), the Cataloging and Indexing Program and the
Publication Sales Program, as well as operation of the Federal Citizen
Information Center in Pueblo, Colorado. Adelaide Hasse
was the founder of the Superintendent of Documents classification
system.[1]

Federal Depository Library
Program

The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) was
established by the United States Congress to ensure
that the American public has access to its Government's
information. Since 1813, depository
libraries have safeguarded the public's right to know by
collecting, organizing, maintaining, preserving, and assisting
users with information from the federal government. The FDLP
provides Government information at no cost to designated depository
libraries in the U.S. and its territories. These depository
libraries, in turn, provide local, no-fee access to Government
information in an impartial environment with professional
assistance.

The Depository Library Council (DLC) to the Public Printer was
established in 1972 to provide advice on policy matters relating to
the FDLP. The primary focus on the DLC's work is to advise the
Public Printer, the Superintendent of Documents, and appropriate
members of GPO staff on practical options for the efficient
management and operation of the FDLP.

The authority for the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP)
and the legal obligations of designated Federal depository
libraries are found in 44 United States Code, 1901-1616.[2]

Official journals of
government

GPO now contracts out much of the federal government's printing
but prints the official journals of government in-house,
including:

Passports

GPO has been producing U.S. passports since
the 1920s. The United States Department
of State began issuing e-passports in 2006. The e-Passport
includes an electronic chip embedded in the cover that contains the
same information that is printed in the passport: name, date of
birth, gender, place of birth, dates of passport issuance and
expiration, passport number and photo image of the traveler. The
e-passport contains security features to prevent the chips from
being read, cloned or changed. GPO produces the blank e-Passport,
while the Department of
State receives and processes applications and issues individual
passports.[3][4][5][6]

GPO ceased production of legacy passports in May 2007, shifting
production entirely to e-passports. In 2007, GPO produced
approximately 20 million passports.[7][8] GPO
produced a record 24 million blank passports in FY 2008. All
manufacturing is done at GPO’s main plant in Washington, D.C., and
at a secure production facility in Stennis, Mississippi.[9][10]

Public Printers of the
United States

By law, the Public Printer heads GPO. The position of Public
Printer traces its roots back to Benjamin Franklin and the period
before the American Revolution, when he served as "publick
printer," whose job was to produce official government documents
for Pennsylvania and other colonies.